Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Miss Lydia]

hmmm, you and Miss L both in N.C. Miss L has ducks.......................

yep we do stony, but I am not making a road trip to Charlotte and I doubt Tripp is headed this way anytime soon. And I have never sent duck eggs through the mail,

 

[farmer boy]

okay nice today is day 19

 

[TheRookie]

Im sooo nervous. Tomorrow is Day 21 for my hen.

First time hatching for both of us.

that it goes well

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

FarmerBoy and Rookie; Good luck!

I am at day 14. Candling tonight to remove any non-developers or blood rings. Figure with eight eggs there is probably at least one. :/

I kicked Summer outside earlier today. She complained bitterly the whole way, even as she wolfed the food I piled in front of her. She didn't peck me though, so two points there!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Tomorrow will be day 14 for Topsy and Smokey. They are both sitting tight. I put them out of their broody area today after I found an enormous stinky poop on Smokey's side. She had practically covered one of the Maran eggs. I cleaned it off the best I could, but I don't know if it was enough. Also the blue egg had some dried poo on it and that was the only one I knew for sure had been developing.

Time will tell if any of these eggs actually hatch. If nothing happens I'll start thinking about plan B since Topsy has been sitting 21 days already.

 

[farmer boy]

hope it goes well for you bobbieschicks ... hope some hatch tonight or tomorrow but friday will be the real hatch time

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

May have been a bit optimistic about Mathilda's broodiness. She is down off the nest this afternoon, so I pulled the eggs and left the plastic easter eggs I always leave in to lure somebody into broody!
Maybe she is just practicing. I have heard tell of such things in a new broody.
...still hoping, tho...

 

[stonykill]

May have been a bit optimistic about Mathilda's broodiness. She is down off the nest this afternoon, so I pulled the eggs and left the plastic easter eggs I always leave in to lure somebody into broody!
Maybe she is just practicing. I have heard tell of such things in a new broody.
...still hoping, tho...

some girls make up their mind right away to sit. My White Leghorn took 2 months to decide to sit. Good plan leaving the egg there. That is what I do. Leave false eggs in the nest. If someone is even thinking of going broody it helps convince them

 

[Johnn]

Right asking advice for my friend because i can't answer it my self. Her light sussex has hatched out 3 chicks so far. Anyways its not about the light sussex, she has a rhold island red sitting too She picked and egg up and put it to her ear and could hear it pecking and scrathcing this was at 6pm last night. then at 12PM the next day there is still no hole but it is still pecking etc, is it ok?

 

[bobbieschicks]

Right asking advice for my friend because i can't answer it my self. Her light sussex has hatched out 3 chicks so far. Anyways its not about the light sussex, she has a rhold island red sitting too She picked and egg up and put it to her ear and could hear it pecking and scrathcing this was at 6pm last night. then at 12PM the next day there is still no hole but it is still pecking etc, is it ok?

It's hard to say if the chick will be okay, but it can take 24 hours for a chick to hatch - as long as it's still peeping and pecking it's still fighting to get out. You may want to advise your friend that they really should leave the eggs alone under the momma when it's that close to hatching as the momma is regulating the temperatures and humidity levels necessary for the chick to hatch. It's exciting to check on the eggs, but moving them and lifting the hen can cause hatching problems. Hope it is okay and will hatch soon.